Pokemon Johto: Crossroads
by Legacy918
Summary: Victor and Willow were the closest of childhood friends but were separated by a move. What happens when Willow returns to Johto to participate in the newly established contests while Victor embarks on his Pokemon Journey? Collaboration with Heart of the Anime! SYOC for traveling companions closed but SYOC for Gym Leaders and Team Rocket Executives will open next chapter!
1. Prologue

**How's it going everybody?! It's Legacy918 here with a brand new story but I'm not here alone because Heart of the Anime is collaborating with me on this one! Unfortunately, she wasn't able to leave her author's notes because her computer was acting up but she was able to work on this chapter a bit with me. We decided to make this an SYOC because they let us include you guys into the mix and challenge us to make a story flexible enough to accommodate OCs. The form is in my bio. I know that this Prologue is kind of long but it's really important for you guys to get to know our characters. Enjoy!**

**Prologue:**

A young boy stood by the pond in New Bark Town throwing stones across the water and watching as they bounced above the clear blue surface, causing ripples as they passed by. The seven year old boy enjoyed spending his free time after school by the pond. It was so calm and peaceful, allowing him to forget about the death of his father the year before. The boy kneeled down and looked at his reflection in the water and saw a pair of emerald green eyes looking back at him. His gaze drifted upwards towards his jet black hair which was drenched in hair gel to keep it spiked forward. The last thing that caught his eye was the tan that made him different from most of the residents in New Bark Town.

"These drawings suck!" The voice of another boy snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned around to see a small group of kids by the playground. Upon closer inspection, he saw a little girl surrounded by three boys. The largest of the three was holding a sketchpad while he and his friends laughed and made fun of the girl. The large one flipped the page and showed his cronies an image of a Rapidash and started mocking it while turning it from side to side, "Oh look at the pretty horse! I bet she wishes she could ride one off into the sunset. What a loser!" The other boys erupted into laughter while the girl cried in silence, hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

Suddenly, the sketch book was swiftly taken away from the large boy's hands and he looked around to find the emerald-eyed boy handing it back to the girl. "This is yours, right?" She nodded slowly and looked at him through a curtain of soft dark red hair. From up close, he could see her diamond blue eyes surrounded by puffy pink sclera from crying. There was a dried trail of tears left on her fair skin.

"Hey, who do you think you are?" The boy felt a tug on the back of his collar and was turned around to face the girl's tormentors.

Another spoke up, "Yeah! We were having fun."

"But she wasn't. You guys were being really mean to her."

The large one looked at the girl then back at the emerald-eyed boy and said, "Whatever, let's go guys. This is why no one likes you Browny." Like a bullet tearing through his skin, the emerald-eyed boy felt internal pain from being made fun of for his skin color. The bullies began walking away, leaving the other two children alone.

The boy turned around and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly again and shyly responded, "Y-yes…thank you."

"Alright, I'll be on my way then." He started to turn but stopped to add, "Don't listen to them, your drawings are actually really good."

The girl looked at him with wide eyes. This was the first time anyone had stood up for her and complimented her drawings. As the boy was about to leave, the girl spoke up "W-wait!" He turned around with a confused look on his face. "W-what's your name?"

Surprise spread throughout his face before he responded, "Victor…Victor Roman at your service." He made a motion with his hand before bowing down, causing the girl to giggle. "What about yours?"

"I'm Willow Brookes." A small smile was now present on Willow's face as she looked at Victor.

"Hey, do you know how to skip rocks?"

Willow had a quizzical look on her face, making Victor laugh. He grabbed her by the hand and slightly tugged on it, "Come on! Follow me!"

He led her to the pond and looked around at the ground searching for a flat stone. Once he found one, Victor showed it to Willow and said, "It has to be a flat stone." Despite still being confused, she watched as Victor tossed the rock, causing it to skip over the water three times.

"That's s-so cool!" Willow said with excitement resonating in her voice.

"Here, try it!" Victor replied as he handed her a flat stone.

She looked at it with uncertainty. "I don't know how to do it."

"If you don't try, you'll never learn" he responded encouragingly. She looked at it before picking it up and facing the water. "Alright so you're going to pull your hand back like this," Victor moved his body to show her how she was supposed to throw it, "and you just snap your wrist when you throw it."

Willow tried it out for herself but didn't really snap her wrist, making the rock sink into the water. "You see?" she complained. "I can't do it."

Victor reassured her, "That wasn't a bad first try, you've just gotta' keep at it and you'll get the hang of it. Here." He handed her another stone and she tried again with Victor positioning her body the way it should be. This time, she managed to make the stone skip once.

"I did it!" she yelled in excitement as she hugged Victor.

As the two skipped stones together, Victor asked, "Have you ever seen a real Rapidash?"

Willow shook her head, "No only on television, but it was so beautiful. Have you ever heard of Pokemon contests?"

"Yeah, they're pretty big in Hoenn and Sinnoh, right?"

"Mhm, I love watching them with my mom. I wish they had some here so I could be a coordinator."

"Who knows, maybe one day, you'll start them here yourself." The thought caught Willow off guard, making her stop and think about it. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head, "No, I was just thinking about what you said. What about you? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"That's easy, I want to be the Pokemon Champion—the strongest trainer in all of Johto and Kanto!" He posed with his fist up high making Willow giggle again.

"Willow! Time to go home!" Willow turned around to find her mother calling out to her in the distance.

"Sorry, I've got to go home" she said sadly.

"It's okay. Hey Willow, want to do this again tomorrow?"

She smiled, "Sure!"

From that day on, Victor and Willow were inseparable. They were often made fun of but it didn't matter because they were friends and they had each other. They spent every day together, skipping rocks at the pond, playing in the playground, or just hanging out at each other's houses. At first, Willow's parents didn't like Victor but soon learned that he was actually a nice boy. Victor and Willow's friendship was soon to end, however.

Willow's father obtained a job in Jubilife City in the Sinnoh Region for a news editor and his family had to move. On the day of Willow and her family's flight, Victor's mother drove him to the airport so he could say goodbye to Willow.

As Willow's father unloaded the car with their luggage for the plane, Victor walked up to his friend with a cheerful expression in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Hey Willow…"

The red-head faced him with tears rolling down her face and she immediately hugged him. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"I know, me too…" the two separated. "I got you a going away gift."

"R-really?"

"Yeah, here." He held out a crimson box which she opened to find a fiery orange stone. "I found it one day while skipping rocks and it's my prized possession, but I want you to have it."

Willows eyes welled up with tears again as Victor placed the fiery orange stone into her outstretched hands. She looked down at the stone and felt gentle warmth radiating from it as she placed it close to her heart. "Thank you Victor… I will always treasure it." Willow and Victor exchanged looks of sadness as they stared into each other's eyes for what was to be the last time. Then Willows eyes widened as a thought entered her head. "I have something for you too." She set her backpack on the ground and started digging through it until she pulled out her sketchbook. She tore out a piece of paper from her sketchbook and handed it to him.

Victor looked closely at the photo and his eyes widened—an older version of Victor stood tall in a wide hallway with a golden cup in his hand and a Feraligatr roaring by his side. As he looked closely he could feel how much time and energy Willow had put into this drawing and a small tear fell down his cheek.

"Do you like it?" Willow asked. Then she looked up at Victor and saw his eyes were wide with shock. "I remember when you told me you wanted to become Pokemon Champion and I w-wanted to capture that moment. I also added Feraligatr in because you said it was your favorite Pokemon."

"Willow…" Victor quiet voice caused the girl to give him a strange look. "Thank you…" Victor's words were cut off as he gripped Willow into a tight hug. Willow's fair face softened and she slowly wrapped her arms around Victor, not wanting to let him go.

"Willow time to leave!" Willow turned around to find her mother urging her towards the airport. She gave Victor a pained look as her hands fell back to her side.

"Victor," Willow spoke up. "Please don't forget me…" Victor's face softened at Willow and he wiped away some of the tears.

"I could never forget you Willow," Victor replied. "You're my best friend. But don't forget me either, okay?"

Willow nodded her head as she and Victor looked at each other for the last time. She stood on the toes of her feet and gave Victor a peck on his cheek. Victor's face began to blush as Willow's father called out to her.

"Goodbye Victor!" Willow yelled as she ran through the sliding doors.

"Goodbye Willow…I won't ever forget you..."

**What did you guys think of the Prologue? Leave your thoughts and questions in the reviews. Legacy, out!**


	2. Chapter 1: Homecoming

**Legacy 918: Hey guys Heart of the Anime here with me writing out Willow's part! I'm extremely glad and grateful for her help and I'm looking forward to writing this story.**

**Heart of the Anime: I want to give a big thank you to Legacy918 for asking me to write this with him. I was actually reading the message off of my phone and I got so excited and dropped it... I would have cracked my screen if it wasn't for my Otterbox. Anyways I want to give a special thank you to Legacy for asking me to do this story with him. I'm excited to be working with you and I hope we can continue to do a good job on this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Otterbox cases.**

**Chapter 1: Homecoming**

The airplane finally hit the runway after a long journey and slowly skidded to a stop. Eager passengers began pouring out as the planes doors opened. The line of exiting passengers began to thin until one person remained. The person stepped into the bright morning sun to reveal a young sixteen year old girl.

The rays of the sun radiated off of her tan skin and caused a golden to form. A gentle wind began to blow and picked up her hair and blew back the gentle dark red curls. Her attire consisted of a white layered skirt that has a high front and a longer back. Forest green socks that reached over her knees, knee high brown lace up boots. And she has a light pink halter styled top that flares out at the ends and a loose brown jacket with sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

As she walked down the stairs her crystal blue eyes were alight with happiness as she looked around at her bustling home region. "Johto I'm back," Willow whispered.

* * *

><p>The morning sun shone through the open window in Victor's bedroom slowly waking the sixteen year-old boy. The sun's rays illuminated his emerald green eyes as the lifted open. He turned onto his back and stretched his arms out while letting out a yawn before placing his hands behind his back. He calmly looked at the ceiling before realizing what day it was and jumping out of bed to get ready.<p>

After putting his clothes on, Victor stood in front of a full length mirror and looked himself over. His hair was bathed in gel, making it incredibly spiky—he always liked it that way. His eyes trailed down to find a hooded sweater with the torso and hood navy blue in color and the sleeves white. He wore a pair of ashy gray jeans and black and blue running shoes. To carry his items while on his journey, Victor had a double-strapped dark gray and blue backpack.

He nodded his approval, "All ready to go!" As he walked towards his bedroom door, he passed by a dresser and something caught his eye, making him stop. It was a picture of him achieving his goal of becoming champion that his childhood best friend drew for him before leaving to Sinnoh. Victor picked it up and took a moment to look at it, thinking back to the good times he had with Willow when they were seven and without noticing, a warm smile crept onto his face.

His thoughts were broken upon hearing his mother call out, "Victor! Are you up yet?"

He called back, "Yeah mom, I'll be down in a sec." Victor put the picture inside his backpack, zipped it up, and stepped out of his room to find his mother setting his plate on the kitchen table.

"Good morning sweetie." Victor's mother had a petite frame, standing at 5'2". Her most notable features were her deep tan, flowing black hair tied into a braid that reached her lower back, and brilliant white smile.

"Morning mom," Victor responded as he sat down and looked at the plate containing a ham and egg sandwich. _Aw yeah!_

Keeping a bright tone the entire time, she replied, "I thought you'd like your favorite before you left on your journey and out onto the dangers of the world, leaving your mother here alone."

Victor sighed, "Aw come on, mom. We talked about this. You said that when I became sixteen, I could apply for a trainer's license and if I got it, I could get my first Pokemon and go on a journey." He stood up and walked over to his mother to give her a hug. "I know you're just worrying about me you know…after dad passed…" The petite woman cringed at the mention of her deceased husband. "But I need to do this if I want to become the champion." Victor pulled back and put his hands on his mother's shoulders, looking at her with pleading emerald eyes, "Please…believe in me."

She smiled and sighing, knowing well that she could never say no to her son when he looked at her like that, "Okay, but please, please, please, please…" this went on for a while, "please! Be careful. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." She could feel tears rising.

"I know mom. I'll call you ever night so you know I'm okay, 'kay?"

She smiled, "Okay, Victor. Now eat before your food gets cold."

Victor smiled back, "Yeah, thanks."

After eating his breakfast and saying goodbye to his mother, Victor made his way to Professor Elm's laboratory. The facility was a gray two-story building with a green roof and brick chimney. Victor walked up to the front door and knocked. He waited until one of the Professor's aides opened the door.

"Yes? How may I help you?"

"I'm Victor Roman. I'm here to pick up my first Pokemon from Professor Elm."

The aide looked him over and nodded, allowing him entrance to the lab. Victor looked around at the machines with blinking lights, beakers filled with unknown substances, and bookshelves stocked with hundreds of scientific books. In the very back of the lab stood a tall man in a white lab coat with short light brown hair that had a small tuft sticking out from the top.

The aide spoke, "Professor Elm, Victor Roman is here for his starter Pokemon."

The figure turned around to reveal a light skinned man with light brown eyes, shielded by round glasses. Underneath his lab coat, he wore a light blue dress shirt and a pair of green slacks held by a dark brown belt. "Ah! Hello Victor. How are you today?" Professor Elm was one of the only people in New Bark Town who was actually nice to Victor aside from his own mother. The educated man was not one to judge a person based on skin color.

Victor smiled, "I'm doing well, how about you?"

Elm sighed while scratching the back of his head, "Busy, but I'll hang in there. So you're here for your starter Pokemon, correct?" Victor nodded. "Great! Follow me to this table." They walked over to a table containing three Poke Balls on it. Professor Elm picked up one of them and pressed the button in the center to enlarge it before tossing it lightly in the air. A bright flash of white light filled the room as the energy inside the Poke Ball converted into a small Pokemon with light green skin, piercing red eyes, and a healthy leaf on top of its head.

"Chika!" It announced proudly.

"Victor, this is the grass-type Pokemon, Chikorita."

"Hey there, you're adorable" Victor lowered himself to talk to the little grass-type.

She blushed, "Chika!"

Professor Elm laughed a bit, "Let's move onto the next one." Like the first time, a bright flash revealed a small blue mouse with a cream-colored underside and long snout.

"Cynda!"

"This is the fire-type Pokemon, Cyndaquil."

As Victor got close to him, Cyndauil's back was lit ablaze, startling Victor for a second. "Whoa! You're awesome!"

"And last but not least, we have the water-type starter, Totodile." Elm opened another Poke Ball and out came a little blue alligator Pokemon with red spikes on his back and end of his tail.

The water-type danced a bit, "Totototototototo-dile!"

Upon seeing Totodile, Victor's mind flashed back to the image of him holding the championship cup alongside a Feraligatr. He knelt down to get a better look at Totodile and the little alligator immediately jumped onto him, gnawing on his head with his large jaw. Professor Elm panicked to get Totodile off until a couple of his aides were able to open his jaws enough for Victor's head to slip out.

"I'm terribly sorry! I don't know what got into him! How about we get you checked out and you can pick your starter another ti—" Elm was interrupted by Victor's laughing and was confused by it.

The sixteen-year-old shook his head, "No, I want Totodile."

An aide whispered to Elm, "I think the bite messed him up in the head."

"W-what are you saying?"

Victor walked over to Totodile and knelt down again while petting him on the head, "I know that this little guy just wanted to play, right?" Totodile jumped onto Victor's head again but the teenager didn't feel any pain. Instead, he laughed because Totodile was gently gnawing and it tickled him a bit. The Professor looked at his aides and they all shrugged their shoulders before laughing along with Victor and Totodile.

"Well I guess we'll get you on your way then." Elm walked over to another table and brought back a red device and five more Poke Balls before handing them to Victor who was now holding Totodile in one arm. "This is your official Pokedex. Not only is it an encyclopedia for your reference, but it also records the number of badges you've collected and holds your trainer's license virtually so you can sign up for the Indigo Plateau when you make it there."

"Thanks Profess—" Victor stopped for a second to look at the Professor with awe in his face. "W-when?"

Elm smiled and nodded, "Yes sirree, I know you'll be a great trainer."

A smile grew on Victor's face before nodding with a determination in his eyes. "I won't let you down, Professor." With his new Pokemon and Pokedex, Victor was ready to take on the Johto League gym challenge. He said goodbye to Professor Elm and exited his lab, heading straight for Route 29 and Cherrygrove City.

* * *

><p>The car ride back to New Bark town was an unnerving one for Willow. Ever since stepping off of the plane she had all sort of thoughts and emotions running around in her head.<p>

"Will Victor remember me? Have I changed that much? Will he recognize me? Does he still look the same? What if he hates me for moving away? What if Victor isn't even there?" Willow let out a defeated sigh as she brought out a worn down crimson box. It opened up with a screech of its old hinges to reveal a beautiful red and orange evolution stone. Willow took the stone into her hand and held it up to the suns beaming rays. When they came light in contact with the stone it set alight the brilliant color, causing a tiny flickering flame to form in the middle.

As Willow stared into the flame her nerves settled down and a small smile appeared on her face.  
>"Remember Willow you're here to travel through Johto and try out there Pokemon Contest." Willow reminded herself silently. Willow let out another deep sigh as she placed the stone back into the old box. "However, I really want to see Victor."<p>

As the taxi finally pulled to a stop in New Bark town, Willow quietly hopped out and handed the driver the fare for the ride. As Willow closed the door she adjusted the forest green messenger bag on her left shoulder.

Willow headed in the direction of Professor Elm's lab in hopes of getting her beginner Pokemon. Placing her hands on the cool metal Willow gave the front doors a push and they opened up. As Willow walked through the laboratory her boots made her steps echo throughout the building. Willow continued walking to the back of the lab until she saw a middle-aged man typing away on the keyboard. She stopped walked as the figure turned around to face her.

"You must be here to get a Pokemon," The professor spoke up. "Welcome, my name is Professor Elm and I'm the Pokemon Professor of the Johto Region. My job is to research this region's Pokemon but I also have the duty of giving new trainers their first Pokemon." Professor Elm stood up from his chair when he got closer to Willow he took in a sudden breath. "Willow is that you?" The professor asked. Willow softly nodded her head and gave the professor a small smile. "My my, you certainly have grown but still as shy as ever." Willow let out a nervous laugh as she stared longingly at the two Poke Balls lying before her. "I see you're here to get a Pokemon. You're in luck, we have two left that are available; the grass type Chikorita and the fire type Cyndaquil. Which one do you choose?" Professor Elm looked at Willow expectedly as the girls fingers lightly brushed over one of the Poke Balls.

"I choose this one," Willow said as she picked up the Poke Ball to her left. The cool surface of the red and white sphere sent chills throughout her body as her fingers touched the button in the center. The Poke Ball enlarged in her small hands and opened up a flash of silver light. The light faded to form the shape of a small, pale green Pokemon with large red eyes, a dark green necklace of buds around the neck, and a large leaf rested on the Pokemon's head.

"Chika," Chikorita said as she stretched. She looked questioningly up at Willow as the red-head's eyes shined bright with excitement. "Rita." Chikorita gave Willow a small green vine extended from one of the buds around her neck. Willow held out her hand and the vine began to wrap around it in a friendly gesture.

"That's Chikorita's way of saying hello," Professor Elm informed. Willow smiled as Chikorita hopped onto her shoulder and she rubbed her hand against the grass-type's smooth skin. "Now it's time to hand you the rest of your supplies. Here is your Pokedex, Chikorita's Poke Ball, and five other Poke Balls." Professor Elm handed Willow a light pink Pokedex and the Poke Balls.

"Thank you," Willow said, barely loud enough for the Professor to hear. She placed the supplies into her messenger bag before giving a slight bow to the professor. She began turning on her heel but stopped and looked back. "By any chance, have you seen Victor?"

His smile faded as he responded, "I'm sorry Willow, but he already left on his journey."

Willow's eyes drifted down—disappointment making itself apparent on her face. She turned on her heel and quickly exited the lab. Professor Elm heard her broken voice, "Thank you…goodbye Professor." The sadness in her heart kept her running all the way out of New Bark town. Willow's pace began to slow until she finally came to a stop.

"Chika," Chikorita asked worriedly. Willow reached up a small hand and rubbed the grass-type's neck. "I should have expected it Chikorita," Willow told her Pokemon. "Victor has already started his journey and could be miles ahead of me. But I'm not here to see Victor. I'm here to compete in the Pokemon Contests." Chikorita listened intently to her trainer speak and nodded her pale green head along with every word.

"Hey you," a girl's voice yelled out. Willow looked up to see a young teenager girl of sixteen years leaning against a tree. The girl's tan skin stood out well against the bright sun and her amber colored eyes danced with passion. Her long, stick straight dirty blonde hair was under a black cap with the red Poke Ball insignia on it. She wore distressed jean capris, a long black tank top with a sideways hanging silver belt and a red sleeveless vest. Her red and black high tops crunched the grass beneath her as she headed over to Willow.

"My name's Kristen Harris," The girl introduced herself as she spun a Poke Ball on her finger. "And I challenge you to a battle!" Willow stared at the girl blankly and took a few steps back in surprise. Kristen stared at Willow a few seconds before letting out a laugh. "I'm not going to take no for an answer!"

"Fine," Willow sighed. She and Kristen walked away from each other until they got a good distance away from each other. "Chikorita let's see what the Pokedex says." Willow brought out her Pokedex and it opened up to scan Chikorita.

"Chikorita the Leaf Pokemon," The Pokedex informed. "A sweet aroma gently wafts from the leaf on its head. It is docile and loves to soak up the sun's rays. Also its pleasant aromatic leaf has the ability to check humidity and temperature." A smile spread across Willow's face as she read Chikorita's moves.

"What's your name," Kristen asked. "I want to know the name of the person I'm about to destroy." Kristen eagerly began to spin the Poke Ball on her finger faster.

"Willow Brookes," Willow said loud enough for Kristen to hear.

"Willow huh," Kristen replied. "Meet my Pokemon! Let's go Mankey!" Kristen stopped the spinning Poke Ball and tossed it high into the air. It opened up in a flash of silver light to reveal a strange pig monkey like Pokemon.

"Mankey Mankey," Mankey squealed as he hopped around excitedly.

"Now it's time to battle," Kristen yelled out.

**Heart of the Anime: Well that's the end of this chapter. You didn't expect me to just write out the battle? Haha I like to leave a cliffhanger every now and then and this one just happens to be one! But overall I hope you enjoy the chapter! Until next time.**

**You heard the lady. Legacy, out!**


	3. Chapter 2: Catch of the Day

**Hiya, Heart of the Anime here! Is everyone enjoying the story so far? Well, I hope so. I really don't have much to say except Enjoy!**

**Legacy here, and I do! Okay, so some people have tried submitting characters to me and I forgot to update the summary until recently to say that we have already picked the parties that Victor and Willow will be traveling with as well as rivals and other people that they will encounter. There's good news though! We have decided to open an SYOC for Gym Leaders (Team Rocket Executives will open next chapter and Elite Four will open the chapter after that) but some Gym Leaders and Elite Four Members from the games will still appear in this so not all of the spots are open. You may pick any typing but it may not overlap with the typing of another Gym Leader and it should be reasonable considering the location of the gym. The forms and other information will be on my profile.**

**Disclaimer: We do not own Pokemon.**

**Chapter 2: Catch of the Day**

"Totodile, use Water Gun!" A stream of water flowed out of the little alligator's mouth and struck his opponent, Hoothoot, causing the round one-footed owl to pant from exhaustion. "Alright! Time to catch it!" With determination in his light green eyes, Victor tossed one of the Poke Balls that Professor Elm had given him at Hoothoot and the little owl was converted into red energy before entering the device. The Poke Ball shook one time…two times…three…and Victor heard a clicking noise, alerting him that the Pokemon had been caught. "Alright Totodile, our first catch!"

"Totodile!" The water-type responded enthusiastically as his trainer went to pick up their prize.

Victor opened the device to let Hoothoot out and introduce himself. Upon being released, the flying-type was slightly confused. She looked up to find Victor kneeling down in front of her. He smiled at her as he said, "Hey there, I'm Victor and this is my partner Totodile. I wanted to introduce us and welcome you to the team."

The flying-type understood and nodded her consent, "Hoot! Hoot!"

Victor's smile grew wider, "I guess you're happy to join. We kind of ruffed you up a bit so how about we get to the next Pokemon Center so both of you can get healed up?" His Pokemon agreed and with that, he returned them to their Poke Balls.

* * *

><p><strong>"<strong>Now it's time to battle," Kristen yelled out. "Mankey use Scratch!" The pig monkey Pokemon let out a loud squeal as he ran towards Chikorita. Swinging down his left hand he swiped it across the grass types face. Chikorita recoiled in pain, the damage from the multiple attacks draining her energy.

"Vine Whip," Willow ordered. "Keep him at bay." Two vines extended from the bulbs around Chikorita's neck on Willow's command. The vines began to wrap around Mankey's arms and Chikorita tossed the fighting type high into the air. With a slight smirk Chikorita used the vines to make Mankey spin around rapidly. Mankey let out a sickening groan as the world around him began to spin.

"Mankey," Kristen yelled out to her Pokemon. Mankey's eyes flashed open at his trainer's voice. "Grab one of the vines and use it to get back to the ground." Mankey grinned and eagerly followed his trainers command. He managed to grab one of Chikorita's green vines and quickly slid to the ground.

"Mankey! Mankey!" Mankey stuck his tongue out at an agitated Chikorita and wagged his tail teasingly at her. A red rash began to spread around Chikorita's face as her anger began to build. Mankey continued teasing the grass type until Willow spoke up.

"Chikorita don't let those little taunts get to you," Willow told her Pokemon. Chikorita looked at her trainer and nodded her head. "Now use your Tackle." Chikorita glared at Mankey and began to run towards him. Using her pale green body Chikorita tackled the fighting type but this time he was ready and thrust his hands forward to stop her.

"Use Low Kick," Kristen yelled out. Using his left foot Mankey swept Chikorita's feet out from underneath her body. Chikorita immediately fell to the ground from the sudden move and struggled to get up. "I say we end it! Mankey Karate Chop!" Mankey eagerly obeyed and his right hand became surrounded in a glow of focused white energy. Throwing his hand forward it slammed against Chikorita's neck and the grass type fell motionless back to Willow, her body drained of energy. Looking closely Willow saw the black swirls of defeat appear in her beginner Pokemon's eyes.

"Good try," Willow whispered to her Pokemon. Chikorita looked up at her trainer with sad eyes and hung her head down low. Willow reached a hand down to her Pokemon and rubbed Chikorita's head in a gesture of comfort. "You did well for your first time battling. Kristen just has more experience." Hearing footsteps Willow looked up to see Kristen standing right in front of her with one of her hands stretched out. Chikorita and Willow exchanged a looked of surprise as Willow placed her hand in Kristen's. The two trainers shook hands lightly and then let them fall back to their sides. Digging into her pocket Kristen brought out a blue Oran berry and offered it to Willow. Taking the berry into her hand Willow moved it to Chikorita's mouth and the grass type began to happily eat it.

"Was that your first time battling," Kristen spoke up. Willow responded by nodding her dainty head. "Not bad. But you seemed to be taken aback by my sudden attacks... why is that?"

"I'm not a trainer exactly," Willow whispered. Kristen strained to hear the red-head's reply and grinned. "I want to be a coordinator. That's the reason I came back to Johto, to compete in the Pokemon Contests." Willow looked up at Kristen with a small spark appearing in her bright blue eyes.

"Cool," Kristen said. She walked over behind Willow and gave the girl an eager pat on the back. "I want to collect all of the gym badges from each region. I know it's a tall order but I'm just the kind of girl to do it. What can I say? I am amazing!"

Willow sweat-dropped at Kristen's statement but nodded her head politely. "Hey you know what?" Kristen placed her arm around Willow's shoulder in a friendly manner and a giant grin appeared on the girl's face. "We should travel together then. I can teach you all that I know about battling and it could help you with your contests."

"Uh-uh..." Willow stuttered. She looked at Chikorita expectantly and the grass type smiled. Trainer and Pokemon exchanged a single thought and nodded their heads. "Okay. But I have to head to Violet City for a Pokemon Contest..."

"Same here," Kristen interrupted. "That's where my first gym battle is at. We could probably get there by the end of today but I want to train my Pokemon. And while we're here why don't you catch a Pokemon? It's better to have more than one Pokemon. I'm not taking no for an answer."

Willow let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, I will go look for one. Come on Chikorita," Chikorita hopped onto her trainers shoulder and they headed away from Kristen and deeper into the forest.

* * *

><p>Victor sat patiently in one of the comfy chairs inside the Pokemon Center while he waited for Nurse Joy to return with his Pokemon. He heard a bell and turned to find the nurse calling out, "Victor? Your Pokemon have been treated." He walked over to her to find two Poke Balls on a tray which he picked up.<p>

"Thanks, Nurse Joy." He responded kindly.

A warm smile appeared on her face, "You're welcome."

"Oh! Also, can I register for the Johto League Gym Challenge?"

She nodded, "Mhm, can I see your Pokedex?" Victor handed her the red device which held an electronic copy of his trainer license so she could enter his information into the system. "All done. Here you go." Victor took his Pokedex back and clipped Totodile and Hoothoot's Poke Balls to the holster on his belt.

"Which gym are you planning on challenging first?"

"Well Violet City is the closest so I think I'll try there first."

"Well good luck and we hope to see you again." Victor nodded and waved goodbye to her before exiting the building and heading for Route 30.

He thought to himself, _I'll probably make it to Violet City by nightfall. I'll probably use the money that that trainer on Route 29 gave me for breakfast tomorrow_. As he walked along the route, he encountered a young boy with a yellow short, blue shorts, and a blue cap worn backwards.

"Hey you!" Victor turned to face the ten-year-old. "Let's have a battle." Every trainer new the rules of initiating a battle: once the eyes of two trainers meet they had to battle. Knowing this, Victor sighed and agreed to a battle.

He unclipped a Poke Ball from his belt and tossed into the air. "Let's go, Totod—"

To his surprise, a small blue round mouse with circular ears and a black tail with a spherical blue tip appeared. "Marill!" it called out happily.

"W-what the?!" Marill turned around and looked at Victor confusedly. It quickly rolled into a ball and launched itself at Victor's stomach, knocking him onto the ground. "What's the big idea?!"

"You can't even control your own Pokemon?" the youngster taunted.

"This isn't even my Pokemon!"

"So you stole it? Officer Jenny! Officer Jenny!" the youngster went off running in the other direction.

"No, wait! It's not what it looks like!" His words fell on deaf ears making him sigh. He felt another jolt of pain in his stomach as he was knocked down again by the Marill. "Oh you little—stop doing that!"

"Marill!" Victor and the water-type turned to find teenage girl approaching them. Victor immediately noticed her fair skin and platinum blonde hair which fell over her shoulder in a side-braid ponytail. The water-type jumped into the girl's arms and Victor immediately understood that Marill belonged to this girl. "There you are, are you alright?" Her sweet voice seemed to make the Marill happy.

Her green eyes moved from Marill to Victor and he immediately went on the defense. "It's not what it looks like, I didn't even know that I had your Marill and I—"

The girl giggled as she set her Marill down, "It's okay, it was a mix up at the Pokemon Center." She unclipped two Poke Balls from one of the straps on her black backpack and handed them to Victor. "Here, these are your Totodile and Hoothoot, right?" He took them into his hands and opened them to reveal his Pokemon. "You also have my Ralts, by the way."

Victor unclipped the second Poke Ball that Nurse Joy gave him and handed it to the girl. "Sorry about this mix-up." He finally got a chance to look the girl over and saw that she wore a long-sleeve purple top underneath a striped dark blue short-sleeve jumper, a blue checkered skirt, and a pair of light blue sneakers.

"Eh, it's okay. I got some Oran Berries out of it. Nurse Joy felt so bad about the mix up that she gave me some. She even told me to give some to you and that she was apologizes to you." She held out the small blue fruit which Victor took. "By the way, I'm sorry about my Marill. She was just really surprised and thought you kidnapped her.

Victor shrugged, "It's okay, I mean it kind of did look like that so I can understand where she was coming from."

"Marill!" she cheered happily.

He turned his attention back to the girl, "So you didn't really seem worried about losing your Pokemon."

"Well Marill usually doesn't like being in her Poke Ball but she goes in for easier and quicker healing. As soon as I got your Poke Balls, I opened the one I thought would be Marill's but found Totodile instead. Then Nurse Joy told me that you were headed to Violet City to challenge the gym there so I thought that since I'm headed there anyway, I'd run into you on the way, so it all worked out. My name is Faye, by the way."

"Victor" he stated as he reached a hand out. She took it and they shook hands. The two continued walking towards Violet City with Marill waddling behind them. "So how come you're headed to Violet City? Are you a trainer too?"

Faye shook her head, "Nope, I'm a coordinator and there's going to a contest up in Violet City in a couple days. I'd never been this far out into the country so I thought I'd look around and that's when the little mix-up happened."

Victor chuckled, "Yeah, sorry again about that."

"No worries. So you're going to take on the Johto League?"

"Yeah, I barely left from New Bark Town this morning and I thought I'd try to get to Violet City before nightfall," he looked up at the orange sky, "But I guess I'll have to camp out for the night."

Faye nodded, "Yeah, same here. Is it okay if we join you?" she gestured to Marill and herself.

"Yeah that's fine with me, but I kind of want to cover a bit more ground before setting down for the night."

"Good idea."

* * *

><p>After several minutes of looking, Willow shook her head. "There are no Pokemon around here." Willow's eyes trailed down in defeat and she began to walk away.<p>

"Chika, chika!" Chikorita chirped. She tapped Willow on the shoulder and it caused the red head to look up. Willow's footsteps stopped and her bright blue eyes widened in surprise.

"It's a Pidgey," Willow whispered. "Chikorita use Tackle, quickly!" Chikorita happily hopped off her trainers shoulder and headed for the bird Pokemon. She threw her body forward and collided head first with the surprised Pidgey. Then Pidgey quickly recovered and launched himself at Chikorita. The grass type dodged with ease and launched a barrage of razor sharp green leaves at Pidgey. Not knowing the leaves were behind him Pidgey took the full force of the Razor Leaf attack and landed on the ground in a heap.

"Chikorita finish it with Tackle," Willow said. Chikorita gave her trainer a gentle nod and tackled Pidgey into ground causing the last bit of Pidgey's health to drain away. Black swirls appeared in the birds eyes and Willow drew a poke ball from her bag. "Poke ball go!" She threw the red and white sphere at the fainted bird Pokemon and it hit Pidgey's head. The poke ball opened up and Pidgey transformed into a red energy that was sucked into the Poke Ball. The poke ball fell to the ground and began to shake one time... two times... and on the third time Willow heard a ding. "I caught my first Pokemon!" The new trainer cheered.

Willow walked over to the poke ball and picked it up with both of her hands. The newly caught Pokemon inside would become one of the Pokemon she would train and compete in contests with, and become one of her best friends. As Willow released Pidgey from the poke ball she silently crossed her fingers and wished that the bird Pokemon would not be mad at her.

"Pidge, Pidgey?" Pidgey chirped, a confused look appearing on his face. Willow knelt down in front of the confused flying type and held out her arm. Pidgey gracefully leapt onto it as Willow began to speak. "I hope you're not mad at me for catching you... but I hope that you will become a part of my team." Pidgey primmed his wings for a few seconds before looking at Willow and nodding his head gently.

"Then welcome to the team Pidgey," Willow whispered to her new Pokemon. Chikorita smiled happily at her trainer and gave Pidgey a gentle pat on the back with her vines. Pidgey gave Chikorita a friendly chirp and both he and Chikorita hopped onto Willow's shoulders. "I guess we should go meet up with Kristen." Willow told her Pokemon as they headed back to Kristen's location.

When Willow arrived back at where she and Kristen had battled she discovered that Kristen had already set up a small fire with food cooking over it and a sleeping bag lay a few feet away from the fire. Off to the side Willow saw Kristen training away from her Mankey and another strange bat-like Pokemon.

"Hey Willow," Kristen yelled as she saw the new trainer approaching her. She looked at her Mankey and Zubat with a proud expression. "Good job you two! Our speed training is paying off." Mankey and Zubat both had smug looks appear on their faces from Kristen's compliments. "And I know you two are getting big heads because of this, so be prepared to back it up at the gym battle!" Kristen's Pokemon eagerly nodded their heads and walked with their trainer over to Willow who had just finished setting up her tent.

"Hey," Willow spoke up. "I want you to meet my new Pokemon Pidgey." Pidgey gave Kristen a friendly chirp and a slight bow. Kristen laughed at the bird Pokemon's formality and responded with a small bow of her own.

"Nice to meet you Pidgey," Kristen said. Kristen reached into her bag and brought of two bowls of Pokemon food. "Eat away you too. You earned it." Seeing the bowls of food both Mankey and Zubat immediately dove in.

Looking up at their trainer Pidgey and Chikorita let out slight sounds to get their trainers attention. Willow looked down at her Pokemon and let out a laugh at the hungry expressions on their faces. "Sorry you two must be hungry as well." Willow replied. Heading over to her bag she brought out the pack of Pokemon food, poured it into two bowls, and presented it to her Pokemon.

"Are you hungry," Kristen asked Willow. A single rumble from Willow's stomach ended up answering Kristen's question and Willow nodded her head sheepishly, embarrassment written on her face. "Haha, I guess you are. Well I'll finish up the soup for us. Would you mind setting up the table and chairs?"

Willow watched as Kristen moved around the fire with ease and decided to follow the other girl's happy mood. Moving over to Kristen's pack she pulled out the foldable materials and unfolded the two chairs and small table. After placing the bowls and spoons onto the table Willow headed over to her pack and pulled out her drawing pad and pencils. Taking the drawing supplies back to the table Willow opened up her sketch pad and began a drawing of Chikorita and Pidgey. As she sketched her two Pokemon a smile appeared on Willow's face and she could feel a masterpiece was being born.

* * *

><p>"Finally, I'm here," A teenager's voice spoke up. He reached up a light colored muscular hand and re-spiked some of his white hair. Moving his blue eyes over to the building in front of him he could feel his heartbeat speed up. "Come on Ryoku time to get your first Pokemon." The teen said to himself.<p>

Taking in a deep breath Ryoku pushed open the doors of the laboratory and walked inside. Around him was now bustling activities of researchers rushing around to finish projects. In the middle of all the chaos stood a middle-aged man in front of a metal table with a single red and white poke ball resting on it. Easily maneuvering his way around the chaos Ryoku reached the professor and introduced himself. "My name is Ryoku Ryu. I came here from Blackthorn City in hopes of receiving my first Pokemon."

Professor Elm looked Ryoku over and gave the seventeen year old a wide smile. "Good timing Ryoku, you're very lucky we have one Pokemon left." Pressing the silver button in the middle of the poke ball it enlarged and opened up in a flash of silver light. The silver light came to form the shape of a strange fire mouse Pokemon. It had a dark blue body with a tan colored underbody. Stretching its short paws out it gave a slight sneeze and flames erupted from its back. "Ryoku this is the fire type Pokemon Cyndaquil."

Looking reluctantly at the Pokemon Ryoku gave a slight sigh of disappointment. "Do you have any dragon type Pokemon available?" Ryoku asked, his love of dragon types evident from his question.

"I'm sorry," The professor responded. "We do not hand out dragon types to beginner trainers, only the standard Pokemon for the Johto Region. However, I believe Cyndaquil is the only Pokemon that hasn't been chosen. We had two other trainers come in earlier, a boy that chose Totodile, and a girl that chose Chikorita."

Ryoku gave Cyndaquil one last look and nodded his head. "What do you say Cyndaquil, want to become my partner?" Ryoku asked the fire type Pokemon. Cyndaquil eagerly nodded his head and hopped up onto Ryoku's shoulder.

"Good decision Ryoku," Professor Elm spoke up. "Here's all of your supplies; Pokedex, Cyndaquil's Poke Ball, and a few spare Poke Balls." Ryoku took the supplies from the professor's hand and placed them in the light gray bag hanging on his back.

"Thanks Professor Elm," Ryoku said as he brought out a red, black, and white bandana from the bag that matched the one tied around his neck. "And since you're going to be one of my Pokemon, here Cyndaquil." Wrapping the bandana around the fire-type's neck he secured and let Cyndaquil admire the cloth.

"Have a good journey," Professor Elm said as Ryoku and his beginner Pokemon Cyndaquil exited through the front doors of the laboratory.

"Well Cyndaquil the wise choice would be to head for Violet City," Ryoku told his partner. Cyndaquil nodded his head along with his trainer and the two headed off into fading sunset.

* * *

><p>As they continued on Route 30, Victor and Faye decided that it was too close to dusk to keep going and that they should eat dinner and go to sleep. While Willow scraped two stones against each other above a stack of wood, Victor spoke into the Pokegear on his wrist.<p>

"Yeah mom, I already caught my first Pokemon, it's a Hoothoot."

"That's great mijo! So where are you staying for the night?"

"I'm on Route 30 and I couldn't make it to Violet City so I'm camping out tonight with this girl I met on the way."

"A girl?!" Victor covered the speaker on the device and turned around to find Faye with a confused look on her face. He smiled and waved at her, receiving an awkward wave in return before walking a bit further away. He uncovered the speaker to hear his mother asking, "What's her name? What does she look like? Do you like her? Why couldn't your papa be here to have the talk with you?"

"Mom, it's nothing like that. We barely met and I'm pretty sure she's only coming with me until we get to Violet City. Anyways, I've got to go get dinner ready, mom."

She sighed, "Okay mijo, good night."

"Good night mom."

"I love you."

"Love you too mom." With that, he hung up and returned to Faye to find a crackling fire dancing on the wood. "Who needs a fire-type when I've got you?" He said jokingly.

Faye giggled as she searched through her bag and responded, "I was thinking we could dine on this." She pulled out a can of ground beef.

"Oh no, it's cool. I've got some noodles that we can cook up."

"Well if you have noodles, we can cook them together and have an even better meal" she responded enthusiastically.

"I like that idea better. Hold on, I've got a pan in my backpack."

Victor and Faye emptied out the noodles and beef onto the pan and allowed the fire to heat them up while mixing the food with a spoon. Once the food was ready, Faye offered to get some plates from her bag. "Eek!" She shrieked as she backed away from her backpack.

"What's wrong?" Frozen from fear, Faye could only point at her backpack. Victor moved it aside to find a yellow worm with a large red nose, small black eyes, and a horn on her head.

"Oh cool, a Weedle."

"No, not cool! Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!"

"Relax, will you? I want to catch it." He heard her groan from behind but he ignored it as he called out his Hoothoot. "Hoothoot, use Tackle!" The one-footed owl hopped towards Weedle, knocking her back. The bug-type used her Poison Sting attack, shooting a needle made of purple energy at Hoothoot from the horn on her head. The needle made contact, hurting Hoothoot a bit. "Use another Tackle!" Hoothoot flapped his tiny wings and rammed into Weedle again, knocking her out. Victor took an empty Poke Ball out of his bag and threw it at Weedle. After converting the Pokemon into energy, the ball shook back and forth for a bit before finally clicking. "Alright, that's my second catch!"

Faye sighed, "Did it have to be a Weedle?"

"Bug-types are cool, here watch." He called out Weedle and held her up to Faye, causing the girl to run away as he chased her with the bug-type in his hands.

"Victor! Knock it off! I'm seriously not into this!"

Victor laughed, "Come on, she won't hurt you. Just pet her."

"No!"

**Heart of the Anime here, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I want to say I'm sorry for the delay of this chapter. It was my fault I've been busy with school and my job but I hope this chapter made up for it.**

**We all forgive you, Heart, and don't worry guys, we'll get started on our next chapter immediately. Legacy, out!**


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